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Ford is expanding its industry-leading
range of fuel-efficient powertrains with the addition of an all-new
1.0-litre EcoBoost three-cylinder, developed in Europe – the smallest
engine Ford has ever built.
Additionally Ford confirms that its
next generation of hybrid vehicles, including the C-MAX in 2013, will
have a Ford-designed, engineered and built transmission.
The arrival of the latest member of the
EcoBoost family, and Ford's new hybrid transmission, will further
strengthen the company's line-up of fuel-efficient vehicles. Introducing
the powertrain newcomers, Derrick Kuzak, Ford's group vice president of
Global Product Development, said the three cylinder in-line powerpack
was developed in Europe for worldwide application and is a significant
addition to Ford's EcoBoost range of engines.
"In the last five years, we have made a
record investment in new powertrains and fuel-saving technologies," he
said. "Today we have the freshest powertrain line-up in the industry.
And there is plenty more coming."
The new engine has already been
confirmed for the new Ford B-MAX, which goes on sale in the UK during
2012, and is also destined for global applications on a number of the
company's other small cars.
Ford's smallest engine yet
Engineers at Ford's Dunton Technical
Centre in the UK were responsible for developing the new EcoBoost
1.0-litre as a cornerstone of the ambitious EcoBoost petrol engine
family. Technically advanced, it is a super-efficient three-cylinder
engine that delivers the same performance as a four-cylinder, but with
much higher fuel economy and lower emissions.
To achieve this, engineers at Dunton,
Essex, Ford's global centre of excellence for small-capacity engines,
focused on improving thermal efficiency and reducing friction of the
engine's internal moving parts, especially during warm-up. That is when
an engine emits higher levels of CO2 and other pollutants.
The new engine introduces many new technologies that could be part of
the DNA of future Ford engines.
Technology powerhouse
Joe Bakaj, vice president of Global
Powertrain Engineering, said the new 1.0-litre engine, might be small in
size, but is big on advanced technology.
“No one has ever built a three-cylinder
engine quite like this.It's one of the most technically advanced and
efficient engines we've ever designed,” Bakaj said. “The new engine
introduces many new technologies that could be part of the DNA of future
Ford engines."
The 1.0-litre engine offers a number of
innovative efficiency solutions:
- An offset crankshaft that reduces
friction
- An advanced, Ford-designed split
cooling system that allows the cylinder block to warm up before the
cylinder head. Faster cylinder block warm-ups save fuel, especially
in cold weather
- An exhaust manifold cast into the
cylinder head. The one-piece assembly lowers the temperature of the
exhaust gases. This enables the engine to run in a wider rpm band
with the optimum fuel-to-air ratio. The new design also saves weight
and allows the engine to operate more smoothly
- EcoBoost technologies, such as
turbocharging, direct-injection and twin independent variable
camshaft timing (Ti-VCT)
For comparison, the newest member of
Ford's global EcoBoost engine family has about the same displacement as
a touring motorcycle engine. Ford has never before built a regular
production car with fewer than four-cylinders.
“Drivers are going to like the new
1.0-litre EcoBoost because it delivers great low-speed responsiveness,
power, torque and smoothness,” said Bakaj.
More details of the new 1.0-litre
EcoBoost engine will be released in September at the Frankfurt Motor
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